Replace Mendy With Kepa In The Last Minute, Tuchel: He Had The Best Percentage When Saving A Penalty

Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy (Twitter @ChelseaFC)

Jakarta - Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel revealed the reason he played Kepa Arrizabalaga to replace Edouard Mendy in the final minutes of the European Super Cup match against Villareal at Windsor Park, Belfast, Ireland, Thursday.

Quoted from the club's official website, Tuchel said Kepa had good statistics in terms of saving penalty kicks.

The German said he received data from the analysis team and the goalkeeping coach on Kepa's good percentage of denying penalty kicks.

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"Kepa has the best percentage when he saves penalties. The analysis team and the goalkeeping coach show the data, then we talk to the players that this (substitution) can happen when we play a knockout game," said Tuchel.

Furthermore, Tuchel was also pleased with the attitude of Edouard Mendy who agreed when he had to be replaced by Kepa ahead of entering the penalty shootout.

Tuchel thinks this shows that his player is a true team player and he is happy for both Mendy and Kepa.

"They've known since then. It's amazing how Edou (Mendy) took him, and it's amazing how the conversation went on the morning before the game at Barnsley.

"They showed that they are real team players. I'm happy for Pada and I'm also happy for Edou," explained Tuchel.

Kepa Arrizabalaga only came on for Edouard Mendy in the 119th minute before the Chelsea vs Villareal match in the European Super Cup entered the penalty shootout.

Kepa managed to become a hero for Chelsea in the penalty shootout after thwarting two Villareal kickers, namely Aisaa Mandi and Raul Albiol, which made the Blues win with a score of 6-5.